2018 Family Summit
The Sommet de la famille (Family Summit), was held on May 14 and 15, 2018 in Saint-Hyacinthe. More than 500 representatives from various organizations who are concerned with family issues attended the summit.
Families face many issues: family-study work balance, educational success of children, health and prevention, support for caregivers, mother/father equality, intergenerational solidarity. Over the last two years, a family support network, the Réseau pour un Québec Famille, hasbecome the leading voice for Quebec families, advocating for public policies that are adapted to their new reality.
In May 2017, the Network organized a «reversed conference» that allowed some 200 family support workers and specialists to hear from families about their reality. It was a rude awakening: parents were unanimous in stating that they often felt let down by a system that can no longer provide families with services they need, when they need them.
The goal of the Sommet de la famille: to move beyond simple status reports and to propose concrete
public policies in support of families.
The Family Support Network believes it must continue to exercise leadership by bringing together the entire community in the search for concrete solutions to the difficulties expressed by families during the conference. With that in mind, it appealed to all family sector partners to take part in the «Family Summit» in order collectively to:
1- Identify conditions that enable decision makers to recognize the interests of families in such a way as to reflect their social and economic importance;
2- Come up with substantive public policies to improve support to families;
3- Instill a global vision that puts families at the heart of concerns with regard to solidarity and social development.
Family issues are complex, because they underly many aspects of government action (family, education, health, taxation, work, equality between men and women, etc.) and include many client groups (children, parents, mothers, fathers, seniors, caregivers, etc.).
In order to avoid being boxed in, the Network proposed structuring the discussion around the issues faced by the families, and to look at the issues from the families’ own perspective. This reflection is supported by four main pillars.
- Families represent the main economic player in Quebec. They need to be supported in order to fulfill their role as an economic driver.
- Families play the biggest role in determining the services that citizens receive. They bear the main responsibility for decisions regarding education, health, mutual support, leisure, culture, etc.
- Families are central to the organization of our communities. The vast majority of our decisions regarding the choice of a community, and the expectations we place on stakeholders, are dependent on family needs.
- Families are the driving force behind the relationships between generations. The transmission of cultural and social values requires the full participation of all generations in society and is facilitated by a strong and healthy family unit.
To view a summary of the Summit and the videos, follow this link:
